Weblog Labs » Inspiring Blogs

Women Bloggers of the World

LMBN — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:22:52 +0000

I’m a woman blogger, but being halfway across the world, didn’t get to attend the BlogHer Conference, which was held this year from July 27th – 29th in Chicago. Nevertheless, I’ve been enjoying reading all about the goings-on at the conference by those who were there:

Over at The Blog Herald, Liz Strauss describes the various sessions of the conference, which included topics such as branding, problogging, design, webstandards (that I would have loved!), and- of course- writing.

Paula Neal Mooney, who spoke at the conference, introduces us to some very successful female bloggers (yay!) and offers up tips for SEO optimization.

And finally, there’s a whole BlogHer ’07 Flickr group where you can see how much fun everyone had. I’ll be there next year, oh yes, I will.

Granted Wishes

LMBN — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 08:11:22 +0000

I was looking through my previous blog entries here, and came upon something I wrote last year, A blogger’s wishlist. These were things I, as a blogger, wanted last December- and what do you know? It’s six months later, and I’m living proof that wishes come true.

Let’s have a look at the original list, with updates:

A full-featured RSS reader.
I’ve been happily using Google Reader for some time now, and there’s really no going back for me.

A Flickr Pro Account.
Got it!

CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions.
Still haven’t got it.

A donation to Modest Needs for Leslie Harpold.
Thanks to all who donated!

A link from Darren Rowse.
Still no joy… but I’m not giving up hope

An iTunes Gift Certificate.
Got it. Thanks, Mom.

Roller Coaster Tycoon.
Got it!

My photo on Time.
Um… give me a few more years.

An iPod.
Got it. Thanks, honey.

To get dugg.
Working on it.

Not bad for six months, no? What’s on your blogging wishlist?

Blogging Rituals

LMBN — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 13:29:49 +0000

As a writer, I’ve always had my own quirky “writer’s rituals”- from dimming the lights and writing poetry by candlelight, to needing a cigarette in my mouth while working on a newspaper column. I’ve made mix tapes (now iTunes playlists) especially for writing, aptly titled “Songs to Write By”, and have been known to haul out my antique typewriter (circle 1922) at particularly desperate times.

Why, then, should blogging be any different? The simple answer is, of course, that it isn’t. Because I usually blog in the morning, I’ve grown used to sipping a cup of coffee while blogging, iTunes set to my “writing playlist” of choice- right now, mostly Yo-Yo Ma’s cello suites with a smattering of christmas carols- while morning sunshine streams through the blinds from the window beside my desk.

Because today was especially long, I’m blogging in the evening. It’s after dinner, I’ve just had a delicious bowl of my husband’s Fabada, and I so needed the flavor of coffee while writing this post that before I even started, I sent for a tall Gingerbread Latte from the nearest Starbucks. Mmmmm. Not a bad ritual at all.

What are your blogging rituals? Do you have any?

Good Reads

LMBN — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 10:28:28 +0000

Because I’m the multitasker of multitaskers, I keep a special bookmarks list of articles and posts online that look interesting, for me to get back to when I actually have time to read through them.

This morning, a gloriously overcast Sunday morning, I got to reading these gems, which I share with you now:

Warpspire’s Writing Quality Content, first published on December 8th, is a must-read for every blogger, but is especially meaningful to me because I write for a living, and ProBlogger’s How Much Money Can A Blog Earn is required reading for all would-be professional bloggers.

Because this post is titled “Good Reads”, I thought I might as well mention some of my new RSS subscriptions. These sites are not new, but my discovery of them is:

Get reading.

Post-Valentine’s Linkage

LMBN — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 16:50:34 +0000

Have I mentioned how much I adore holidays? I love them, and take advantage of any excuse to celebrate life. Which is why I went missing before and after Valentine’s.

While I get back into the swing of things, let me point you towards these must-visits for all bloggers:

Blogging? Six tips on how to do it right by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel touches on everything from naming your blog to finding inspiration.

Janice’s Technorati Test, Tips, & Tricks Site is one of my favorite new finds (thanks to Successful Blog for the link).

Blog Design for Beginners over at ProBlogger is a great read for non-beginners as well.

Inside AdSense’s 9 for Newbies and 8 for Experts are both worthy bookmarks.

Enjoy.

RSS for your readers

LMBN — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 02:22:22 +0000

Because I’m a serial blogger, I read a lot of other blogs- for inspiration, fun, news, etc.

Now while there are so many wonderful blogs out there, many of them aren’t too easy on the eyes (especially when you’ve got extremely high astigmatism). Tiny fonts, bad fonts, too-tight or too-loose line-spacing… the list goes on and on.

Which is why the very first thing I do when discovering a good blog is look for their RSS feed. My eyes seek out that little orange button.

For the most part, I’ve learned to find these feeds based on what specific platform the blog is using. For example, Typepad blogs usually have a “Subscribe to this blog’s feed” text line. Majority of WordPress templates, on the other hand, have the RSS feed listed in the “smalltype” of their page footers. Some blogs have clearly labeled, easily discovered buttons and links- others require a bit more digging (and source viewing in some cases).

My point? If you publish a blog, please publish an RSS feed. Validate your feed, and feature the link prominently on your blog. It makes life that much easier for your readers.

I’m an Official SOB

LMBN — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 04:55:48 +0000

That’s Successful and Outstanding Blogger, according to the very kind Miz Liz.

I’m thrilled not only because of the said “award”, not only because GoodBlogger will be part of their new SOB directory, but because Successful Blog is a damn good site, and one of my favourite blogger’s bookmarks.

It’s the weekend… where’s your roundup?

LMBN — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 07:36:39 +0000

Weekly (and monthly, and yearly) roundups are so popular now. Not only do they give you, the blogger, a chance to “summarize” a certain period of time in one nice, neat post, it gives your readers a chance to catch-up on something they might have missed earlier.

For now I’m going with a weekly roundup, posted at the end of each week. Here goes…

1. The Mom & Pop Blog Network is a find I’m still excited about. Although I’m not a Mom yet, I do have plans to be one in the future, which is why this network is so interesting to me.

2. Over at Performancing, Nick Wilson asks where the women bloggers are. There’s one right here, of course- but as the comments show, there are more of us than expected. Like Jill Murray.

3. ChefVault, my group blog over at Fine Fools, is now part of 9 Rules. Yay!

4. Which makes this a great time to have discovered Johnnie Manzari’s 9rules Content Direct to Your Website or Desktop.

5. Also in the Blogging Network category, there’s a new network in town: Erati, home of blog.erati, tech.erati, and Successful Blog.

Maybe I’ll try posting a beginning-of-the-week roundup on my other blogs, to see what works better for me.

Top Ten Inspiring Blogs of 2005

LMBN — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 18:24:45 +0000

These blogs are wonderful because they not only remind me why I blog, they also make me want to blog more.

1. Signal vs. Noise. I don’t think these guys ever posted something uninteresting. If you care at all about design and usability- not just on the web, but in life- then you’ll agree with me.

2. The Amateur Gourmet is a great foodblogger because his personality just shines through on every post he writes. His love of food is obvious, and it makes me hungry.

3. Girlspoke blows me away because they’re frank and funny, and as a woman I agree with them on more things than I care to admit.

4. Jessica Zafra is somewhat of a celebrity here in the Philippines. Her writing is smart and witty with a good dose of snarkiness.

5. Pink is the New Blog is a guilty pleasure. Is it the glittery banner, or the neon-coloured text? It’s the gossip, of course.

6. Loobylu won me over with her illustrations, but her blog has so much more than just a pretty face- she writes about art and crafting, yes, but also about life.

7. eyes wide apart is another art blog, by the woman behind those gorgeous illustrations at Joyent.

8. Lifehacker, because it never fails to get me off my ass.

9. Lealea, a blog about the business of design and the web, has me silently nodding my head in agreement very often.

10. Aelon is a video gaming blog that makes me want to stop reading, play a video game, then blog about it.